The unrushed songs are equally appealing, gussied up with elegant guitar and piano accents and spiked with disarming lines.

It’s a step forward for sure, though at times it reinforces the cloying feeling that the need to complicate rather than simplify makes for overwrought music. But you can’t blame a band for being thoughtful or for playing like something is at stake.

ProVISIONS tells a less reassuring truth than "’Sno Angel Like You," but one that’s just as true; you just never know.

Sunshine Lies contains some of Sweet’s best moments in years, with the classic push/pull of gloriously sunny melodies and lyrical darkness underneath.

For all the inventive whimsy of the arrangements, however, there’s no mistaking the slight lyrical content.

Loads of echo and reverb rescue the album from this potentially fatal flaw, but overall, You & Me is a mixed bag.

Repentance is a lot of fun.

Fatigue ensues from the relentless stream of common-man clichés, delivered in the most vocally bombastic way possible. Which makes the carefree 'Casanova, Baby!' such a pleasure; the Gaslight Anthem finally stops playing to the stadium, resulting in a positively joyous, catchy rock ’n’ roll song.

The Notwist’s last album, 2003’s "Neon Golden," was irresistibly catchy and irretrievably downbeat. Both of those qualities are muted on The Devil, You + Me, the German combo’s long-in-the-making follow-up.

Though there are crinkled guitars and tiny beats slipped into the mix, they only add to the eloquence of the lush affair.

Forget Evil Urges entirely; call this one Zzz.

To Survive is both sparser and more polished than last year's "Real Life." [Summer 2008, p.107]

The 13-track Parallel Play is a decidedly less ambitious effort, but it’s no less brilliant in its execution.

Velocifero is a mere knob's turn toward the excellence the band still seems to be working toward. [Summer 2008, p.107]

Fleet Foxes' full-length debut showcases a gift for folk-adjacent mini-epics that evolve in unexpected directions yet never lose their organic center. [Summer 2008, p.102]

This album isn’t a total disaster, but it’s difficult to imagine most people wanting to listen to Anywhere I Lay My Head more than once.

Some will call this regression, but longtime fans will likely call it focused and celebrate the return to form represented on The Lucky Ones.

Building considerably on the subtle expansion of 2006's "Bring It Back," the powerhouse Re-Arrange Us is both natural progression and quantum leap. [Summer 2008, p.107]

Boo Human is far from cohesive, but the playing is sharp, sympathetic and strong enough to create poetry out of everyday desperation.

Its best moments stand among its members' better experiments, though the rest will likely be replaced after another decade-long ice age. [Summer 2008, p.106]

Make no mistake, Blame It On Gravity is a guitar-pop record at heart. Other than a few twangy flourishes here and there, bassist Murry Hammond appears to be the one keeping the country faith, delivering one of his best performances on “Color Of A Lonely Heart Is Blue.”

As tasteful as it all is, you still wonder what Vetiver is bringing to this material other than reverence. [Summer 2008, p.109]

Musically, all the touchstones that made "Passover" so riveting are in place. [Summer 2008, p.96]

Daniel and Schmidt have created a peculiar album that reminds us of the majesty contained in vintage machinery.

With Four Tet, more is generally more. [Summer 2008, p.105]

Though Station only gets fully cranked twice (the Battles-esque title track, the explosive 'Youngblood'), Turncrantz’s surefooted playing will keep your interest from flagging.

The Midnight Organ Fight's bloodied-but-unbowed lyrics stand up to repeated listening even on the fastest cutes. [Summer 2008, p.106]

The fourth LP from this gritty Toronto five-piece offers a few genuine gems sprinkled among many more tracks borne out of blue-collar blood, sweat and tears.